Wounds Will Heal in Time
by LazySmurf247
Summary: AU: Valerie broke his heart, and took off. A few years later, her father brought her back home to Ipswich to keep her safe. She has to finish school and face her demons, getting in Sons good graces. But it's not going to be easy. Rated T for language. R
1. The Beginning

A/N: Yes of course... it is I, with yet another story clouding my brain and itchin' to get out for you all to read. I have so many ideas but only so much room to keep it in. I've decided to go a semi different route with this one. I think it's gonna be pretty good. I can picture it all in my head, but putting it on paper, then on here... is a little bit tough. I'll wing it, I guess. LOL! I hope you readers out there enjoy this one as well as my other ones and as always R&R! Smooches kiddos!

P.S. I DO NOT OWN NOTHING FROM THE COVENANT... just my OC's

* * *

--Chapter One--  
--The Beginning--

"I don't wanna go back." Valerie Burke told her father John as they were in his Chevy SUV on the freeway.

"Honey, we haven't been there in almost four years." he paused. "And I had to get you and Jake away from Drew."

Valerie pulled down the visor to look at her beautiful three year old son, Jacob sleeping so peacefully. She smiled. "Well anything to keep him safe."

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded. "What's up?"

"Jake isn't Drew's... is he?"

Valerie looked at him with a blank stare, then shook her head. "But he swears up and down that he is."

"Well, he's in jail now and he can't bother you."

"I'm glad." she nodded.

"You need to finish school and do better for Jake."

"I know, Dad... but why in Ipswich?"

"Because we're starting off fresh, with a clean slate." he paused. "Besides, I'll have a better job at the hospital and you'll get to see your friends."

Valerie groaned. "That's if they forgive me... I broke Tyler's heart. Tyler's so sweet and I hurt him, it's unforgivable."

"It's been a while, maybe he or they got over it."

"I highly doubt it."

"Everything will be okay."

"Yeah." she paused to look out the window. "We'll see."

----

Valerie was born on March twenty seventh, nineteen ninety in Brooklyn, New York to John and Susie Burke. When Valerie turned five, her mother died in a car accident, and John moved himself and Valerie to a little town in Massachusetts called Ipswich, with Susie's parents Henry and Leslie Shaw. As Valerie was growing up, she met her best friends: Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin, and Tyler Simms.

All five of them were inseperable, up until the boys started turning thirteen. Caleb was first, but one by one they'd ignore her and not hang out or talk to her. Valerie knew something was going on with them, but never figured out why they were acting like that. A few weeks after Tyler turned thirteen, the boys started hanging out with Valerie again.

Tyler had a crush on Valerie and asked her to be his girlfriend on her fourteenth birthday, even though he was a year younger than her. She said 'yes' and a month later, both Tyler and Valerie popped each other's cherry, and told nobody about it.

Two weeks after that, Tyler and Reid caught Valerie kissing on some new kid at school and she begged her dad to move away, so they did. John moved her to Orlando, Florida. Tyler's heart was broken and the rest of the guys were pissed off at her.

Right after she moved into her new home, she met Drew Benson and became his girlfriend. A few months later, Valerie got a huge surprise when she couldn't figure out why she was sick all the time. That's when she found out that she was pregnant. She didn't know what to do, since she was too young, but she decided to keep it anyway. Drew was pissed off at first, but after he got used to the idea of being a father, he was happy about it.

Jacob Ryan Burke or 'Jake' was born on January tenth, two thousand five at Florida Memorial Hospital in Orlando at ten thirty pm. He weighed six pounds- three ounces and he was nineteen inches long. After Valerie gave birth to Jake, she felt like something was off. Not only did she have a strange and complicated pregnancy, she'd look at Jake and didn't see Drew anywhere in him.

When Jake started walking, talking, the little things and actions that he would do, all she saw was Tyler. It was a shock to her, but then she also felt it in her heart that Jake was Tyler's, but once she figured it out, she kept it to herself, and letting Drew believe that Jake was his.

After Jake turned two, things between Drew and Valerie was going down hill, and all they'd do is fight. Drew got caught up with the wrong crowd and started doing drugs. One night, Drew came over to the house, a little drunk and strung out on crystal meth, and beat up Valerie. It was happening like that, for almost a year.

As soon as John found out about it, he got a restraining order, and had Drew put in jail. But now they're on the way to the place that Valerie thought she'd never go back to. Home to Ipswich.

----

John arrived in Ipswich three days later, on a Sunday afternoon. Valerie's grandparents met them outside with cheesy smiles. Valerie got out of the SUV first and walked up to them as John was carefully taking Jake out of his car seat.

"Hi, Grandma... Grandpa." they engulfed her in a big hug. "Um... I missed you too."

Seconds later, they let go and Leslie cupped Valerie's face with her hands. "Wow." she studied her face. "You look exactly like your mother."

Valerie gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, Grandma."

"You look so gorgeous." Leslie smiled, let go of her face, then looked over at John. "Is this our great grandson?"

Valerie nodded. "Yep."

"He's gotten so big, since the pictures you sent us." Leslie said, playing with Jake's hair.

"Yeah, he's also smart for his age."

"That's good." Henry started. "Now he can go out and get a job."

Valerie laughed. "That would be nice, Grandpa, but not quite yet. He's barely gonna be in preschool."

"You can never be too young to have a job." Henry joked.

"Come on." Leslie said, with a little laugh. "Let's get the little one in his room, so we can move your stuff in." everyone nodded in agreement and walked into the house.

When they were finished with that and while Leslie was keeping a eye on Jake, John help Valerie move her stuff into the Spencer Academy Dorms. John had everything squared away with Provost Higgins, a few days before they moved and had the dorm keys Fed-Ex'd to Florida.

They walked up to the second floor and looked for the room number. Seconds later, John found it. "Here it is... you're number two eighty four."

"Cool, I guess." she shrugged her shoulders.

John opened the door and turned on the light, "It looks roomy. There's a nice bed, looks like a full size and we'll have to buy you full sized sheets. You have a few dressers, your own bathroom, a desk." he walked over to the window and looked out. "And you have a good view."

"Dad." Valerie started. "Before I officially move in, is Grandma really gonna watch Jake?"

"Yes, she told you that she'd take care of him while you were here and at school."

"I don't want to go to school, doing my 'school' things... and she changes her mind."

John put his hands on Valerie's shoulders with a smile. "Leslie won't change her mind, okay?" she nodded. "She's retired and is happy to take care of Jake for you."

"Okay, then... let's move in." she said, smiling up at him.

John kissed Valerie on the top of her head, then they moved her things into her room. Afterwards, John took Valerie to a Walmart to get her some toiletries, towels, bed sheets, a comforter, pillows, a mini fridge, a microwave, snacks, drinks, and school supplies, then took it all back to her dorm and put it away. When they were finished, they left and took the U-Haul back to a store, and went to her grandparents.

After dinner was over, Valerie said her 'goodbyes' to Jake and her grandparents, so she could go to the dorms. John walked outside with her, then gave her the keys. "Here."

"You're not driving me?" she asked, as he put the keys in her hands.

"No... you can take the car."

"Car?"

"Follow me." he smirked, then Valerie followed John into the garage. He opened it and Valerie's jaw dropped to the ground. John saw her reaction and laughed. "I had Henry go pick this up a few days ago for you."

"Dad... it's a... it's a." she paused to take a breath. "Dodge Challenger?" he nodded. "How did you know I wanted one? How did you know I wanted it navy blue?"

"I'm your father and I hear things. I heard you telling Raquel that you wanted one."

"So... it's mine?"

"All yours." he smiled, then she tackled him for a hug. "Well, I'm glad you like it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she kind of yelled. "I love it!"

"You're welcome, Princess." they broke from the hug. "You be careful, have a good day at school, and I'll see you for dinner tomorrow night."

"Okay, thank you so much, Daddy." she said, opening the car door.

"You're very welcome." he smiled, then Valerie got into the car, started it, and drove off to the dorms. Before she went to bed, she decided to play a little bit on her laptop, looking at pictures of Jake, and to email her best friend Raquel. She got her school supplies and her backpack all ready then went to bed, with her stomach full of butterflies.


	2. Stay Away From Him

--Chapter Two--  
--Stay Away From Him--

Valerie woke up the next morning, around six am. She went into the girls shower room to take a fifteen minute shower, then got dressed. All she wore was jeans and a t-shirt with her favorite black boots. She did her hair in a pony tail, fixed her make up, grabbed her backpack, and headed out the door to her car. She got in, plugged her phone in the charger, then drove to the school.

She met with Provost Higgins and he took over an hour to tell her about the school and to give her all of her information she'd need, along with ten school uniforms. After she changed her clothes and put her things into her locker, she walked to the door of her second hour class. She stood there with her eyes closed and counted to ten, while her stomach was constantly turning flips.

Valerie took a deep breath, then as she was about to open the door, she heard someone walking up behind her. "Excuse me?"

She turned around and saw a guy with long brown curly hair. "Hi." she said, softly.

"Are you headed in there?" he asked, staring her up and down.

"Yeah." she nodded. "I'm just building up the courage to walk in."

"So you're new?"

"Yeah, my first day." she held out her hand. "I'm Valerie."

He shook it. "And I am so fuckin' yours." she giggled. "I mean... I'm Aaron."

"Nice to meet you, Aaron." she smiled, letting go of his hand. "This is your class too?"

"Yeah." he said, opening the door. "Come on." she nodded and followed him inside.

"Well, well, Mr. Abbott, perhaps you can explain to me why you're late to my class, this time."

"I was told to escort the new student to class, Mr. Vaughn." he smirked.

The teacher glared at Aaron for a few seconds. "Get to your seat." then he turned his attention to the new girl. "What's your name?"

"Valerie Burke... I have a late slip." she said, handing him the paper.

He looked at it and nodded. "Well, I'm Mr. Vaughn... go ahead and have a seat by Mr. Abbott."

She nodded, then as she turned around, she stopped dead in her tracks with her eyes wide. _"It's Reid."_ she thought to herself, then she was staring intently into his piercing blue eyes as he was death glaring her.

"Miss Burke?"

"Yeah?" she turned around to look at Mr. Vaughn.

"Have a seat."

She nodded. "Um... sorry." then she went to her seat without looking at Reid._ "Yep, he still hates me."_ she thought, shaking her head. For the rest of that class, she could feel like Reid's eyes were glued to her, and there was nothing she could do about it, and she was sure that he was going to tell the guys about her.

When the bell rang, Reid made a bee line out the door. Valerie sighed, then Aaron tapped her on her arm. "What's your next class?"

"Biology."

He nodded. "I'll walk you over."

"Okay, thanks." she smiled.

----

Reid was sitting at his desk as Caleb, Sarah, Pogue, and Tyler walked into the classroom laughing. Once they saw the scowl on Reid's face the laughter died down.

"What's with you?" Tyler asked, sitting down.

"Nothing, Man... just leave it alone for now."

"All right." Tyler nodded as Reid put his head on the desk.

"Is everything okay, Reid?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah." he mumbled.

"Something must be really bugging you." Pogue pointed out.

"It's fine." Reid mumbled again.

"You sure, Buddy?"

Reid looked up at Tyler. "Yes... just let it go." he just nodded, as students and the teacher came pouring in.

----

After Valerie talked to her biology teacher, she sat down at the table, then everyone came walking in. "Miss Tunney?"

Valerie saw a dark haired girl turn around to the teacher. "Yes, Mrs. Marshall?"

"You have a new lab partner."

She briefly glanced at the person that will be sitting next to her, with dark hair and blue eyes. "Cool." she nodded, then sat down. She turned to the blue eyed girl. "I'm Kate Tunney."

"Valerie Burke."

"Where you from?"

"My last address was Orlando, Florida. I was born in New York, but I'm from here since I lived here longer."

"Oh." Kate nodded. "How often did you go to the beach?"

"A lot."

"How come you moved back here? I woulda stayed posted at the beach."

"Class." Mrs. Marshall started. "I'm going to step out for a moment." then she left the room.

Valerie turned her attention to Kate. "My dad moved us back here to get us away from my ex boyfriend."

"Can I ask why?"

Valerie sighed. "He was always strung out on drugs and alcohol." she paused. "He was always beating on me, for almost a year."

"Oh no." Kate said, with concern.

"Once my dad found out about it, he got a restraining order on Drew, then had him put in jail."

"That's horrible, he ain't a real man, if he's beating on a woman."

"I know. I mean, I have a black belt in karate and I could of easily fought him off."

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know... I was under this spell or something. and I thought he'd stop." she paused. "I feel better knowing his there, away from me."

"Do you think he'll get out?"

"From what my lawyer told me... he's not."

"He should stay in there and rot." Kate started. "Because it's not right to hit any woman."

"I hope he does stay, because he told me in the court room, before the cops took him into his holding cell that he'll find out, where I'm at, and come after me."

"No way."

"So I'm glad, he's in there."

"Yeah." Kate nodded. "Hey do you wanna go to Nicky's tonight?"

"Nicky's? That bar is still standing?"

"Yep."

"And they let high school kids in? Because since it was a bar, no kids under the age of twenty one could go in there."

"Oh, I know. Nicky changed it a few years ago, making it family oriented. He added pool tables, a fooseball table, air hockey, a dance floor with a jukebox, and a few video games."

"Wow, that's cool and it's cool that Nicky still works there." Valerie nodded. "I might stop by and check it out."

A few minutes later, Mrs. Marshall walked back in and started teaching her class.

----

When that hour was over, Kate told Valerie 'bye' then walked out. As Valerie was walking to her locker, all of a sudden she was grabbed, and was pulled into a janitor's closet. She looked up and was face to face with Reid, who didn't look happy at all.

He glared at her for a minute, before he spoke. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She took a deep breath. "Um... my dad moved us back."

"Why?"

"He got a better offer at the hospital, here in Ipswich."

"Out of all the schools is the state of Massachusetts or the whole US even, why'd you pick this one?"

"I didn't have a choice." she paused. "And I missed you guys."

Reid scoffed. "Bullshit, that's a damn lie."

"No... it's true, Reid."

"So you break my best friends fragile heart, shattering it in a million pieces by cheating on him with the new guy, and you run like a coward with no explaination... leaving Tyler broken." her eyes started welling up with tears. "And now you're back, after almost four years and you show your cheating face in my school?"

She shook her head. "I'm s-sorry, Reid."

"Valerie, I'm not the one you should be saying 'sorry' to." he crossed his arms over his chest. "But it's not gonna make a difference anyway. He hates you, just like the rest of us." a few tears fell down her cheeks. "Are you back for good?" she just nodded. "Well, if you're smart, you'll stay the hell away from Tyler." he paused and got a few inches away from her face. "Or you _will_ be sorry." and with that, Reid left her in there. She stayed in the janitors closet for another five minutes, then went into the girls bathroom to wash her tears away.


	3. You All Have Some Screws Loose

--Chapter Three--  
--You All Have Some Screws Loose--

Reid strolled into his class and saw that the teacher wasn't there, so he sat down with the guys, Kate, and Sarah. "What's up?" he asked, turning around in his seat.

"You're looking less moody. Did you take your Midol?" Pogue asked, with a laugh.

Reid sighed, then looked right at Tyler. "I have something to tell you and I don't think you're gonna like it." he glanced at Caleb and Pogue. "And neither will you."

"Actually, I don't like where this is going." Tyler said, shaking his head.

"What is it?" asked Caleb.

"Guess who's back in town and now attending Spencer?"

"Who?" asked Sarah.

Reid looked back at Tyler, then said "Valerie." the guys jaws dropped.

"Valerie Burke?" asked Kate. "The new girl?"

"How do you know her?" questioned Reid.

"She's my lab partner in biology."

"Shut up... seriously?" Tyler said, looking at Reid. He nodded then Tyler slammed his head on his desk.

"So who is she?" asked Kate.

"Valerie." Caleb started. "Grew up with us since she was five. Tyler asked her to be his girlfriend on her fourteenth birthday and two weeks later, Ty and Reid caught her kissing on the new kid in school. A couple days after that, she took off."

"Like a coward with no explaination." Reid added.

"Wow, really?" Sarah asked, shocked.

"Yep... and he didn't even get any nookie, it's a shame."

"Shut up, Reid." Tyler growled.

"What's she even doing here?" asked Pogue.

"Uh... I know why?" Kate said, raising her hand, then had all eyes on her.

"Why?" asked Caleb.

"We talked a little in class and she seems pretty cool."

"What did she say?" Reid said, in an irritated tone.

Kate frowned. "All right... she told me that her dad moved her back here, because her then-boyfriend was beating on her all the time, for almost a year."

Tyler snapped his head up. "What?!" he kind of yelled.

Kate saw the concern in his eyes as Reid was glaring at him. "Yeah, her dad got a restraining on him and had him put in jail."

"Well, the guy should of brought the bitch down with him."

Tyler shot Reid a death glare, then said "Shut up and don't talk about her like that."

He looked at Tyler incredulously. "Are you serious?" Tyler was still glaring. "That whore cheats on you and breaks your heart, and you're defending her? Telling me to shut up?"

Caleb put his hand on Reid's shoulder. "Calm down."

He shrugged it off. "No, Cal... fuck that. Valerie is nothing but a whore and doesn't even belong here or deserve to breathe the same air as us."'

Seconds later, Tyler punched Reid in his face, knocking him out of his seat. All of them were in shock with their jaws dropped, including Reid to Tyler's sudden outburst. A minute later, Tyler grabbed his things, and walked out of the classroom.

"Did _that_ just happen?" Pogue said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Baby Boy." Reid started, getting off the ground and sitting in his seat. "Has a few screws loose in his head, for defending that bitch, after what she did to him." he shook his head. "Un-fuckin-believable."

"Um.... I kinda invited her to Nicky's tonight."

"Wonderful, Kate!" Reid yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

----

Tyler turned the corner in the hallway, then stopped when he saw a girl at the lockers. After a minute, the girl turned her face. _"That's her."_ he thought to himself. He didn't know what to do- go up to her or leave her alone. Seconds later, Valerie got shoved into her locker. _"What the hell?"_ Tyler muttered to himself.

Valerie turned around and saw a very pissed of girl with frizzy red hair. "What is your problem?"

"You flirting with Aaron."

"And you are?"

"His girlfriend, Kira. You talk to him again and I'll kick your ass."

Valerie laughed. "Honey, I am one bitch... you don't want to mess with."

"And why is that?"

"Mess with me and find out." she smirked, then Kira glared at her. As she was about to slap Valerie, she blocked Kira's wrist, pulling it behind her back. Kira tried breaking loose, but Valerie wasn't letting go. "Like I said before." Valerie started, whispering in her ear. "I'm one bitch you don't wanna mess with." Kira nodded, then Valerie pushed Kira away from her. Kira glared at her for a second, then walked away.

Valerie grabbed everything she needed for her next class and headed in the direction Kira was going. Tyler watched the whole confrontation and was a little impressed, then went to the library.

----

When lunch rolled around, Valerie went to the study hall instead of going to the lunchroom. She wasn't really hungry and after talking to Reid, she wasn't ready to face the rest of the guys just yet. So she just sat there in silence, doing some of her school work and texting Raquel.

_"So you haven't talked to them?"_

_"Kinda."_

_"What do you mean... kinda."_

_"Reid grabbed me and pulled me into a closet."_

_"Why?"_

_"He told me to stay the hell away from Tyler."_

_"Are you?"_

_"I don't know what to do."_

_"Hang in there, Girly."_

_"I'll try... I'll talk to you later, bye."_

_"Bye Val."_ Raquel texted, then Valerie snapped her phone shut, and went on doing her work.

----

Tyler walked into the lunchroom and went over to the table. He looked right at Reid. "I'm sorry, Man, I don't know what came over me... I just.." he trailed off.

"It's okay, Baby Boy." he nodded and Tyler sat down. "I know 'Valerie' is a sour subject for you."

"She's not even in here." Kate said, looking around.

"Maybe, she took my advise and took off again."

Tyler frowned. "What exactly did you say to her, Reid?"

"I told her to stay away from you."

"Why?"

"Because she hurt you, kissing on some other dude, while she was _your_ girlfriend."

"Reid, she was fourteen and I was thirteen."

"So."

"We were kids."

"Ty, cheating is cheating."

"That's true, but we were still kids."

"Have you seen her yet?" asked Caleb.

"Yeah, I saw her man handling Kira." Tyler said, with a laugh. "Because she shoved Valerie into the locker." he paused. "I don't know what they were talking about, but I'm sure it had to do with Aaron."

"Well, finally someone put Kira in her place." Sarah giggled.

"Valerie was nice to me." Kate pointed out.

"Reid." Caleb started. "She may have 'cheated' and took off, but maybe she's changed."

Reid looked at the whole table incredulously. "Maybe all of you have some screw loose in your brains too." he shook his head and stood up.

"Reid..."

"Tyler." he mocked, looking down at him. "Fine, go be with her and forgive her. Do what you want, but when she breaks your heart again, which she will, don't come crying to me." then Reid walked away.

"Why is he so sensitive when it comes to cheating?" asked Sarah. "I know it's bad."

"It struck a nerve with Reid."

"Why?" asked Kate.

Caleb sighed. "Because Reid's father cheated on his mother and they're seperated."

"Yeah." Tyler nodded. "And it's a delicate matter to him and I know Reid's trying to protect me, but I just don't know what to do."

Pogue smacked Tyler on his shoulder. "You'll figure it out, Buddy."

Caleb glanced at his watch. "It's time to go to our next class."

All of them stood up, threw their trays away and walked out of the lunchroom. After they got what they needed out of their lockers, they went to their math class


	4. Not Sure What to Say or Do

--Chapter Four--  
--Not Sure What to Say or Do--

"She's here." Kate whispered as they slowly walked in.

Pogue looked in her direction. "Wow... she's." he paused as Kate was glaring at him. "Um... grown up."

Valerie felt like she was being watched and she slowly lifted up her head. She saw Caleb, Pogue, Kate, a blonde girl, and Tyler staring at her. She froze, looking at Tyler and not knowing what to do.

Seconds later, Reid walked in. Valerie quickly looked away as Aaron approached her. "Is this seat taken?"

She smiled. "No, it's not." he nodded and sat down next to her.

"Great." Tyler frowned. "Abbott's got her under his spell."

"Let him have her... all cheaters belong together."

"Reid, that may be true." Caleb started. "But you and I both know how much slime Aaron is."

"The more reason to let him have her." he smirked, then he sat in a seat far away from Valerie.

"I guess that _is_ a sensitive subject." said Sarah.

Caleb nodded. "Let's go sit down." they all sat in their seats, but Tyler sat far away from Valerie, but close enough to hear her conversation with Aaron.

"So, where are you from?" Aaron asked.

"I was born in New York, then came here when I was five. Something bad happened after I turned fourteen and my dad moved us to Florida."

"What was so bad that you had to move away?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"That bad?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I ended up losing my best friends over something that was out of my control."

_"What is she talking about?"_ Tyler thought.

"That's sad." he placed his hand over hers. "They weren't real best friends then."

"It's little more complicated then that. I didn't even get to explain myself, they just thought the worst of me, and that's one of the reasons why I left."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

_"You're full of shit, Abbott."_ Tyler thought, rolling his eyes.

"It's okay... I mean, I'm back home. I just want to graduate, go to college, and get a good job."

"Well, if you need any help with that... I'll be glad to help you." he smirked.

"Yeah, sure." she nodded.

Five minutes later, the teacher walked in, and said "Okay, class... tomorrow, I'm going to randomly pair two of you together..."

"For what, Mr. Wallace?"

"Mr. Garwin... if you'd let me finish my sentence, you'd know why."

Reid nodded. "As you were." he smirked.

Mr. Wallace frowned at him for a few seconds, then spoke. "I'm going to pair you up, because you'll be making a geometrical shape using cardboard, that you'll be cutting out and rubber bands." he walked over to his closet and pulled out a spherical looking shaped ball. "Some of yours, if you do it right, will look like this... more or less."

"Can we pick our own partners?"

"No, Mr. Garwin." Mr. Wallace said, putting the sphere on his desk. "You'll find out who your partner will be tomorrow."

"Wonderful." Reid said, rolling his eyes, then slammed his head on the desk.

Mr. Wallace looked at his notes on his desk, then looked up at the class. "We have a new student in class. Miss Valerie Burke, stand up." she did as she was told. "Hello, Miss Burke."

"Hi." she waved.

"I have an idea." Mr. Wallace paused to think. "You, Miss Burke, can partner up with Mr. Garwin for your project."

Reid snapped his head up, then him and Valerie yelled. "What?!" in unison, then they glared at each other.

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Wallace asked, as Valerie sat back down.

Reid raised his hand. "Yes... I demand a recount."

Mr. Wallace shook his head. "No, Mr. Garwin, you and Miss Burke will partner up for this project. If you don't, I'll fail both of you, and you'll get an incomplete."

Valerie groaned. "Okay." she said, nodding.

"Fine... but I'm not going to enjoy it." Reid retorted.

"I sure would enjoy every moment of it." Aaron smirked.

Tyler glared at him. "You better shut the fuck up, Abbott."

Valerie looked at Tyler in shock, then Aaron said "Or what, Simms? You'll sick your bodyguard on me because you can fight your own battles?"

"I am damn sure, I won't need Reid for this one."

"Yeah, right." Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Gentlemen... would you like to discuss this matter in the Provost's office?"

"No." Tyler shook his head.

"No, Mr. Wallace." Aaron said, sinking in his seat.

"Good." then Mr. Wallace went on with his lesson.

Tyler sat there thinking if he should ask Valerie what she was talking about to Aaron, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to her yet. Tyler Simms stuck between a rock and a hard place.

When class was over, Aaron looked over at Valerie. "What's your next class?"

"P.E."

He nodded. "I'll walk you... I have swim practice."

"Okay." Valerie said, grabbing her things, then both of them walked out.

Sarah and Tyler were the last to leave, she went up to him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I just." he groaned. "I don't know."

"Regardless what Valerie has done... her or no girl should be in Aaron's clutches." she paused. "Except for Kira, she's too stupid to see that he's scum."

"Yeah... I just need some time to figure everything out."

"Come on, I have P.E. and you have swimming."she smiled, then they walked out of the classroom.

----

As Tyler walked into the boys locker room, he overheard Aaron talking to his friends, Ryan and Bordy about Valerie. "Damn, she's so hot and she smells so good."

"So when you gonna hit that? " Bordy asked.

Then all of a sudden, Tyler slammed Aaron into the locker. "What the fuck, Simms!?" he yelled.

Tyler pointed his finger in his face as Caleb, Pogue, and Reid came up to see what was happening. "You better stay the fuck away from her, if you know what's good for you."

"What?" Aaron started. "You want a piece first? We'll take turns, but she looks woman enough to take us both on."

Seconds later, Tyler punched Aaron in his jaw, knocking him to the ground, and he was pounding him. It took Caleb, Pogue, and Reid to pry Tyler off of him, while Bordy and Ryan was pulling Aaron away.

"You stay the fuck away from her." Tyler repeated.

Aaron stood to his feet and laughed as blood was dripping from his mouth. "Okay, fine." he raised his hands in defeat. "But there's no guarentee that she'll stay away from me." he smirked, then Tyler tried to lunge at him as they were walking away.

Caleb pushed Tyler into the wall."What is your problem?" Tyler stood there with a scowl on his face. "Do you want to get expelled?" both Reid and Pogue stood there in shock, with their jaws dropped. "Look, we all know that Aaron is a prick, but fighting with him, will either get you kicked out or you'll be suspended."

Tyler glared at him for a few seconds. "Fine." he replied, walking away.

"Where you going?" asked Pogue.

"The dorms!" he yelled back, then walked out of the locker room.

"Wow." Pogue started. "As long as we've known Ty, I've never seen him do something like that before."

Caleb rubbed his hand down his face, then nodded. "You're right, he never got pissed off over... well." he paused. "Anything, but Aaron talking about Valerie is what set him off." he looked right at Reid. "Just like you talked about her this morning."

Reid shook his head. "Well, I didn't go to the extreme about her, like that stupid ass did."

"Do you think she'll come to Nicky's tonight?" asked Pogue.

"We'll see." said Caleb. "But for now, we have to hit the water." Pogue and Reid agreed, then the guys got changed and went into the swimming pool.


	5. Here's My Side of the Story

--Chapter Five--  
--Here's My Side of the Story--

Kate and Sarah walked into the gym and saw Valerie sitting by herself on the bench, looking bored, and watching the rest of the girls play volleyball.

"Valerie?"

She looked over. "Hey Kate."

"This is Sarah... Sarah this is Valerie."

"It's nice to meet you." Valerie smiled.

"Likewise." she said, then her and Kate sat down.

"We came to warn you."

"About what, Kate?"

"Aaron Abbott... he's slime and bad news."

"Okay, thanks. I'll remember that."

"Are you still coming to Nicky's?"

"I don't know, Kate." Valerie shook her head.

"The boys will be there." said Sarah.

"When you say boys, you mean Caleb, Reid, Pogue, and..."

"Tyler." Kate said, finishing her sentence.

"So I take it, you know about mine and Tyler's history."

"Parts of it." Sarah nodded.

"I don't know if that will be a good idea. They probably still hate me, I know Reid does."

"We've heard the guys version of the story." said Kate. "What's yours?"

Valerie took a deep breath. "Well, I was dating Tyler something bad, kinda almost happened. I didn't even get a chance to explain and I left. I didn't even tell my dad what really happened, I just went along with what everyone was saying, and I had to get out of there."

Sarah and Kate both got a little worried, then Sarah asked. "What... happened?"

"When Tyler and Reid 'caught' me, yes I was with the new kid... but the new kid kept forcing himself on me and I'd have to say, if they wouldn't have 'caught' me in time, the new kid would have done something very horrible." she wiped a tear falling down her cheek. "And they reacted to what they saw and ran with it."

"Did you try telling them what really happened?" asked Kate.

"No. I know I should of, but it was too late." she shrugged. "But when I moved to Florida, I started dating my now- ex, as soon as I got there, for like a distraction, so I didn't have to think about what happened here. Before the beatings happened, being with him helped me forget and block out that day. I lost my boyfriend and my best friends, so that's why I don't like to talk about it." Kate and Sarah nodded. "I put it all behind me and I honestly thought that I'd never come back here."

"Are you going to tell them what really happened?" asked Sarah.

"They wouldn't believe me." seconds later, Valerie's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket. "Excuse me, for a second." the girls nodded as Valerie pressed the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Val."

"Hey, Marty... what's up?"

"I called your father already, but I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Drew filed for an appeal to get his case over turned, something about... not enough evidence." her eyes went wide. "His court date is in two weeks."

"Will they let him out?"

"I'm not sure, but I called to give you a heads up." he paused. "For now, you have nothing to worry about and I know you want to keep Jake safe from him."

"Yeah, thanks anyway. Is the restraining order still in tact, even if I moved away?"

"It should be, if not then I'll come up there and have a judge renew it for you just in case."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry, Val."

"It's okay... thanks for calling."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye, Marty." she told him, then hung up her phone, and sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Sarah.

"That was my lawyer, telling me that Drew- the ex, is filing for an appeal to get his his case over turned, and his court date is in two weeks." she paused. "And he might be getting out."

"Oh no." Kate gasped.

"I guess... I have nothing to worry about, but still."

"We got your back." Sarah said, with a smile.

"Yeah." Kate agreed. "If you need us for anything, we're there for you... with the guys or not."

Valerie giggled. "Thank you."

"So are you going to Nicky's tonight?"

She nodded. "Yes, Kate... I'll be there."

"Awesome."

"After me and Caleb comes back from our date, we'll be there around eight-ish."

"You're dating Caleb?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah and Kate's with Pogue."

"That's cool." Valerie smiled.

"Yep." Kate smiled. "And we should have a girls day and go shopping."

"I love shopping... it sounds like fun." Valerie nodded.

----

When school was over, Valerie was at her locker, grabbing all of her school uniforms, and a few books.

"Hey, Valerie?"

She turned around and gasped. She saw Aaron with a black eye and a fat lip. "What happened to you?"

"Oh... it's nothing I can't handle." he paused. "Would you like to go out tonight?"

"Um... maybe next time. I have plans."

Aaron nodded. "Okay, next time then." he grabbed her hand and softly kissed it, then walked away as Valerie went back to digging in her locker.

Seconds later, she heard someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around and saw Reid glaring at her. "What now?" she asked.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why are you answering a question with a question?"

"Why are you?"

Reid shook his head. "Look... Tyler, for some unknown reason, seems to have a soft spot for you, even after what you did to him, and even after all this time you've been away."

"What's your point, Reid?" she asked, slamming her locker.

"My point is... did you see Aaron's jacked up face?" she nodded. "Tyler did that."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was surprised as you are... hell, I didn't even know he had it in him." he paused. "Now, I really don't care what you do or care about you for that matter, but stay away from Aaron or Tyler beating him, would just be for nothing."

"First you tell me to stay away from Tyler and now you're telling me to stay away from Aaron? Since when did you become my boss?"

Reid chuckled. "If you ever loved or cared about Ty at all... you'll do what I ask."

"Which one?"

"Both."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "What the fuck ever." she nodded. "Fine... and by the way, I'm not looking forward to working with you tomorrow. I'd rather take my chances with Aaron, than do anything with you." she noticed Reid got a little pissed, by the look on his face and with that, Valerie walked away. She walked out the building, got into her car, and drove to the dorms.


	6. Don't you Ever Listen? No!

--Chapter Six--  
--Don't you Ever Listen? No!--

After Valerie parked her car, she got all of her things out, and walked up to the building. She ended up dropping a few uniforms on the ground, but she was glad they were in plastic. As she was picking them up, she heard "Let me help you."

She looked up and saw Aaron, smiling down at her. "Okay." then he nodded and helped her. Both of them stood up. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, I'll walk you to your room."

"Sure." she nodded, then they walked up to the second floor. She opened her door and walked in, putting her stuff on the bed. "Thanks for your help."

"It was no problem." he nodded. "Are you sure, you have plans tonight?"

"I do... I'll be at Nicky's."

"That's perfect. I'll meet you there."

"Okay, that's fine." she nodded.

He put her things on the bed and kissed her hand. "I'll see you there tonight." he smiled, then walked out of her room.

Valerie shook her head, then put her uniforms away. After she got changed into jeans, a navy blue baby doll tank top, and navy blue Converse. She did some of her homework and went over to her grandma's house.

----

Drew was sitting in his jail cell, looking at a picture of Jake and him. He couldn't help to notice that something was off with Jake, in the picture. Like something wasn't right. A few minutes later, a guard came up to his cell, opening the lock.

"Drew Benson." he opened the door.

"What, Officer Knight?" he said, keeping his eyes on the picture.

"You have a visitor."

He snapped his head up. "Who is it?"

"Go and see."

Drew nodded, then followed the guard to the visiting room. He saw a guy with brown hair, sitting at the table. Drew sat down with his arms acrossed his chest. "Who the hell are you?"

"Let's just say, I'm an old friend of your little girlfriend's family."

"Is that right."

"Yep."

"What about her?"

"She has your son, right?" he nodded. "Okay, what if I said if I could get him back to you?"

"I'd say what's the catch?"

"No catch... just the satisfaction of helping you out."

"And why do you want to help me?"

"I get your son back to you and I get a little payback on Valerie's friends. It's a win-win."

"And this is supposed to happen when?"

"By the time you get out of here, you'll be with your son."

Drew nodded. "Fine." then both guys shook hands.

----

She walked in and immediately caught the aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. She walked into the kitchen with a grin. "That smells delicious."

Jake looked up. "Mommy." he got off the stool and ran to Valerie with his arms open.

She picked him up. "Hey, Little Man." she hugged him. "I missed you."

"Me too." he giggled, then she put him back down on his feet and her ran over to his chair he was sitting on. Valerie sat in a stool and looked at the ground.

"How was school?"

"It was." she looked up at John. "Very eventful."

"Did you make any friends?" asked Leslie.

"Did you talk to the guys?" asked John.

"A little bit of both." she paused. "I'm friends with Caleb and Pogue's girlfriends and the only one that I talked to was Reid." she paused. "But he was mostly doing the talking."

"It's a start."

"Not really, Dad... but then again, this was my first day, and I didn't expect them to talk to me anyway."

"I'm sure they'll come around."

"Yeah... we'll see." she shrugged her shoulders.

"What are these boys' names?"

Valerie looked at Leslie. "Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Tyler."

"And their last names?"

"Danvers, Parry, Garwin, and Simms... why, Grandma?"

"It's just that, I've heard of these boys." Leslie said, leaning on the counter. "Around town, after you moved to Florida, They've been known as the Sons of Ipswich."

"What? Why is that?" asked Valerie.

"Well, the story is... the boys are supposedly descendants of five families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the sixteen hundreds."

"Are you serious, Grandma?" she nodded. "I grew up with the guys and they've never mentioned that to me and I've never even heard of anything like that."

"Me either." said John.

"Well... it's just a story or like a myth."

"Okay." Valerie started. "So what happend to the fifth family? There's only four of them."

"They say the fifth was killed off during the Salem Witch Hunts."

"Really?" asked John.

"Yeah, like I said, it's just a story."

"That's crazy." Valerie shook her head. "So what's for dinner?"

"Your Grandma is making your favorite... her famous pot roast." John said, with a smile.

"Cool, I haven't had any in a long time." she paused. "Where's Grandpa?"

"He's at the store, getting a few things for dinner."

"Oh... okay. I can't wait to eat."

"It will be another fifteen minutes." Leslie smiled at her.

Valerie nodded, then John looked at her with a serious look on his face. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah." she said, then followed him into the den. "What's up, Dad?"

"Marty called you right?"

"Yeah, he told me that I have nothing to worry about right now... until the court date."

"Okay, if he does happen to get out, I don't think he knows we're here, but we need to be extra careful... just in case." he gave her a hug. "I don't want nothing happening to you or Jake."

"I know, Daddy."

"Everything will be fine." he backed up to look at her. "We'll figure this out."

She nodded. "Okay."

They broke from the hug, then he kissed Valerie on the top of her head. "Come on, let's go set the table." she nodded and they walked back into the kitchen.

After dinner was over, Valerie was sorting through all of Jake's things, while Leslie gave Jake a bath. When she put everything away, she tucked him in bed. She said her 'good nights' and 'goodbyes' to John and her grandparents, and drove over to Nicky's.

As she parked her car, she noticed Aaron sitting on the curb. She grabbed her money, license, phone, and bank card. Then she got out of her car and walked up to Nicky's. Aaron stood up, with a smile. "Hey, Beautiful."

"Hey."

"I didn't think you'd make it."

"I had some things to do." she paused. "So how long have you been sitting here?"

"Not too long."

"Oh." she nodded.

"I wanted to wait for you, so you wouldn't have to go searching for me."

"Okay... thanks." she smiled.

"Let's go inside, I'll get you a drink."

"Okay."

----

"Do you think she'll show up?" Kate asked the table.

"God! I hope not."

"Give her a break, Reid."

"Bite me, Sarah." he mocked.

"Both of you... chill out." Caleb ordered.

"She probably won't even come." Pogue said, shoving a few french fries in mouth.

"Wait." said Kate. "She's over there." everyone looked in the direction Kate was pointing to. "She's with Aaron?!"

"Why is she with him?" asked Sarah. "We told her he was bad news."

"Does she not fuckin' listen?!" Reid kind of yelled. "What the hell is her problem?"

Tyler glared at Reid. "What are you talking about?"

"Dude, it doesn't matter now... she's fraternizing with the enemy."

"What did you say to her?" asked Pogue. "Now I wanna know."

Reid rolled his eyes and told them what he told Valerie after school.

----

"Do you know how to play pool?" Aaron asked Valerie, as he took a sip of his soda.

"Yeah, a little."

"Come on." he grabbed her hand and lead her to a pool table. He grabbed two sticks then gave one to her. "Here." she took it, then Aaron set up the balls on the table. "I usually play for money, but we'll just play for fun."

"Okay."

Aaron let Valerie start the game. She was solids. After she sunk a few in the pockets, she had a difficult time trying to get the two ball in. Aaron chuckled. "You look like you need some help."

"A little."

"I'll help you." she nodded, then Aaron stood close behind Valerie, helping her with the pool stick. "All you do is hit the ball in the right spot, but not to hard." he had his hands on top of hers gliding the pool stick. "Just like... this." both of them lightly hit it together and sunk the two ball. "See."

She turned her head to look at him, their faces was inches apart. "Thanks, for... um helping me."

"It was no problem." he inched closer to her lips. "At all." seconds later, he planted his lips onto hers, kissing her. A minute after that, Aaron got ripped away from Valerie. "What the fuck, Garwin?!"

"Didn't Tyler fuck up your face earlier, for being around her?"

Valerie rolled her eyes and shook her head. Aaron laughed, then said "I don't give a shit what he told me. You or anyone else."

Reid turned his attention to Valerie. "Why didn't you fuckin' listen to me?"

"You're not my boss, Reid." she shook her head. "Didn't I tell you I'd take my chances." Reid just growled. "What the fuck do you care anyway? You told me you don't care about me or what I do, so leave me the fuck alone."

Aaron held out his hand to Valerie. "You wanna get out of here?"

"Yes... I do." she said, looking at Reid with a 'kiss-my-ass' smirk. She grabbed Aaron's hand, then as she was walking away, she bumped into something hard, letting go of Aaron. She looked up and was face to face with a very angry Tyler.


	7. One Truth Comes Out

--Chapter Seven--  
--One Truth Comes Out--

Valerie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It was like she couldn't find her voice to talk. Seconds later, she felt her arm being tugged at, in the other direction. Tyler stepped in front of Valerie and was nose to nose with Aaron.

"I suggest you walk away, before I give you another black eye."

"I'm not leaving without Valerie." Aaron shook his head.

"She's not going anywhere with you."

"Let's play for her then... I win, she comes back with me. You win, which I highly doubt you will, she goes with you."

Valerie glared at both of them. "I'm not anyones damn prize."

Aaron walked up to her and whispered. "Relax, the sooner I win, the sooner we can leave." she nodded, then followed Aaron to the pool table. A minute later, the pool table was crowded with Tyler, Reid, Caleb, and Pogue. Valerie just stood quietly shaking her head.

The game was almost over and Tyler was winning. Valerie couldn't take it anymore, so she messed up the balls on the pool table, and said "This is so childish and stupid. I'm not a prize!" she started walking away, but Tyler grabbed her hand looking at her with pleading eyes.

A huge part of her wanted to give in, but the other part was screaming at her to walk away. She didn't know what to do. She thought about Jake for a minute, then shook her head, ripping her hand out of Tyler's grasp, and walked out of Nicky's to her car.

As she opened the door, it got shut. She looked over and saw Reid glaring at her. "What are you doing?" he asked her, leaning on her car.

"Leave me alone."

"Tyler was about to win and you messed up the pool table."

"Like I said before... I'm not a prize."

"Don't you see, Tyler has a soft spot for you. If he didn't, he wouldn't care that you were with Aaron."

"Oh, so he cares about me now?"

"Maybe."

"Riiiiight." she tried to open her door, but Reid wouldn't let her. "Move."

"I can't do that." he shook his head.

"Reid... why don't you go run along with the rest of the 'Sons of Ipswich' and leave me the fuck alone?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"My grandma."

"Where did she hear it?"

"She heard people around town." she paused. "Something about you four being descendants of five families that settled here in Ipswich and the fifth family got killed off at the Salem Witch Hunts." Reid's eyes widened. "The whole time I've known you guys, I never heard anything like that."

"Yeah... well, it's just a story." Reid nodded, then moved out the way. "Go ahead and go."

Valerie looked at him funny, then said "Okay." then she got in her car and drove to the dorms. After she put her pajama's on, she laid down on her bed, looking at her laptop of pictures of Jake, until she fell asleep.

----

Reid was the only one sitting at the table, when everyone else walked up and sat down. "What's up with you?" asked Kate.

"Nothing... I'm just thinking."

"So did Valerie take off?"

He glanced up at Sarah. "Yeah."

"I need to talk to her, before Aaron gets to her." Tyler said, shaking his head.

"Are you sure you want to?" asked Pogue. "I mean, we all saw them kissing over there."

"I have to... although I'm not sure what to say."

"For starters, you can ask her why she cheated on you?" Kate and Sarah both glared at Caleb. "What?"

"Well." Kate started. "She didn't cheat on him."

"Bullshit!" Reid yelled. "Me and Ty saw her."

"That's not what was going on." Sarah shook her head. "If anything, you two saved her from something bad happening."

"What are you talking about?" asked Tyler.

Sarah and Kate explained everything that Valerie told them, to the guys.

"She's fuckin' lying to you."

"I don't know, Reid." Sarah started. "She had the saddest look on her face when she was talking about losing her boyfriend and best friends." Reid just shook his head.

"Well, if that's what really happened, why did she take off?" asked Pogue.

"Because these two." Kate pointed to Reid and Tyler. "Just reacted to what they saw."

"I don't believe this." Reid said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just think about it for a second and give her the benefit of the doubt." Reid glared at Sarah. "I mean, I think she's telling the truth."

A few minutes later, Tyler stood up, and Pogue said "Where you going?"

"For a walk."

"Are you okay?" asked Kate.

"Yeah." he nodded. "I just need to go think." then he walked out of Nicky's.

----

Valerie got woken up to her cell phone ringing. She reached over to answer it and didn't bother to check who it was. "Hello?" she yawned.

"Hey, Baby."

Her eyes widened. "W-what do you want, Drew?"

"To talk to you."

"It's late... why are you calling me anyway?"

"I have a few guards that owed me a favor, so I decided to call you." he paused. "How are you?"

"I'm doing better, now that I'm away from you."

"I doubt it. How's my son?"

"That's none of your business."

"Actually it is... he's my son and when I get out of here, I'm taking him with me."

"You'll have to get through me first."

"Oh, I will Val and you'll never see him again."

"Drew... go to hell and leave me and _my_ son alone!" she yelled then hung up on him. Seconds later, she heard a knock on her door. She got up to answer it and saw Aaron standing there, with a guilty look on his face. "I really don't have time for this."

"I just wanted to say that I was sorry... about the pool game earlier."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, that wasn't right. I just didn't want you to go with Simms and hang out with him."

"I probably wouldn't have anyway. Me, him, and the guys don't really get along."

"Can I come in?"

"I suppose." she opened the door a little more and Aaron walked in. She shut the door. "So what's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd like some company."

"It's fine... but no funny stuff."

Aaron laughed. "Okay." he sat down on her bed. He looked over and saw her laptop open. "Who's the kid? A nephew or a cousin?"

"No... that's my son."

"You have a kid?"

"Yeah."

"Where's his dad?"

"He's around."

Aaron nodded, then stood up. "I just remembered something, I had to do." he walked to the door. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." before Valerie could say anything, he left and shut the door behind him.

"That's one way of getting rid of a guy." she muttered to herself, then she got into bed, set her alarm, and went to sleep.


	8. Is This the Absolute Truth?

--Chapter Eight--  
--Is This the Absolute Truth?--

Valerie woke up at the sound of someone knocking on her door. She looked over and saw that her alarm was blinking _"4:15."_ in the am. She groaned getting out of bed and slowly walked to the door. She opened it and to her surprise, Tyler was standing there. She blinked her eyes a few times to make sure it was him. "What... what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"So you came over to my room?" he nodded. "Why?"

"A few things actually, that I want to talk about... it's been bugging me."

"And you want to talk about it, like, right now?"

"Please, Val?"

Tyler made his best puppy dog look, which was hard for Valerie to resist. It took her a minute to think about it, then she nodded, letting him walk inside. As she shut the door, Tyler sat down on her bed. "So, what's up?" she sat down next to him. "What did you want to talk about?"

"The day, me and Reid caught you with the new guy."

"Why? You're just going off on what you saw, right? Why do you want to bring that up now?"

He sighed. "Kate and Sarah told us what happened."

"Oh."

"So is it true?"

She nodded. "Tyler, you were one of my best friends and I care a lot about you. Why would I want to go and ruin everything between us?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because with Reid talking shit and with his influence... you wouldn't have believed me, so I didn't even bother."

Tyler got closer to her. "You're telling me the absolute truth? You never cheated on me?"

She placed one hand on his cheek. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Tyler nodded, then she let go of his face. "Can I ask you another question?" she nodded. "What's this situation with your ex?"

"They told you about that too?"

"Yeah, Kate and Sarah are a little worried."

"Well... Drew is threatening to come after me, if and when he gets out of jail, to take my..."

"Your what?"

"Um..."

"Your what, Val?"

"My... son."

His eyes widened. "You have a son?"

She nodded. "Yes and he told me that, he's going to try and take him from me."

"What's your son's name?"

"Jake."

"Where is he?"

"With my grandparents and my dad."

"Wow... I can't believe you had a kid."

"Yeah, it was a shock to me too."

Tyler stood up. "I guess, I'll go... unless you want me to stay."

"That's totally up to you."

He nodded. "I'm pretty tired and my room is far away, so I'll stay and park it on the floor."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." he smiled.

Valerie gave him a pillow and her comforter. He fixed it on the ground, next to her bed. Then she got in her bed as he laid down. She leaned over. "Thanks for staying with me. I'm glad it's you and not Aaron."

"What do you mean?"

"He stopped by earlier, telling me he was sorry about the pool game, then once he saw the picture of Jake, and asking me who he was... he took off."

"Val, you shouldn't hang around that guy, he's bad news... he's like a walking STD and he just wants to get into your pants."

"Really? Well, I wouldn't even give him the chance." she paused then rested her hand on Tyler's chest. "But I will try to stay away from him, because you asked me to."

He held her hand. "Okay and I'm also sorry about the pool game. I know you're not a prize, but I just didn't want you leaving with him. He'd hurt you and then I would have to kill him."

"You'd kill him for hurting me?"

"Val, I'd kill anyone for hurting you. That's why I'm so upset about hearing that your ex was beating up on you."

"Oh." she nodded.

Tyler took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the text message from Reid. He shut off his phone, put it next to him, and looked up at Valerie. "Listen to me, Val... he's not gonna hurt you no more and he's not going to take your son from you either. I'm not going to let that happen."

"What about the guys?"

"They'll come around."

"And Reid? I doubt he will."

"Give him some time. I mean, after I left Nicky's, I had a long time to think. It was a lot to take in and I still have a few things to think about, but until then I'll keep you safe from Aaron and your ex."

"I'm so sorry, Ty... I didn't mean for all of that to happen. If I could go back and change a few things." she had a few tears falling down her cheek. "I never would have lost you or my best friends."

He smiled and lifted up his hand to wipe her tears away with his thumb. "Let's get some sleep."

"Okay, good night." she said, getting comfortable in her bed.

"Night, Val... see you in a few hours."

She giggled. "Okay." then both of them fell asleep with little smiles on their faces.

----

"Where is he?" asked Caleb.

"I don't know." Reid shrugged his shoulders. "I sent him a text to meet at the colony house, he didn't respond back."

"Where do you think he is?" asked Pogue. "I mean, he left Nicky's pretty upset."

"We'll just talk about this tomorrow or something." Caleb said, rubbing his face.

"He might be at the dorms." suggested Pogue.

"Maybe." Reid nodded. "But I came from there and he wasn't in the room."

"He's probably at his parents." said Caleb.

"I heard a crazy rumor, earlier."

"What rumor?" asked Pogue.

"People at the dorms are saying that... Valerie has a kid."

"She has a kid?" Pogue's eyes widened. "From her ex, right?"

"I don't know and also, it's going around that she doesn't know who the father is." Reid shrugged his shoulders. "Some stupid shit like that."

"Does Tyler know?"

"I don't know, Cal... I haven't seen him."

"Let's just go and we'll talk to Tyler about this tomorrow." Caleb said, standing up. The guys nodded, then left the Danvers colony house.


End file.
